Cigarette packer machines include inspection systems to inspect tobacco level of each cigarette within packs of cigarettes and presence or absence of cigarettes within the packs of cigarettes. In inspecting the level of tobacco and presence or absence of cigarettes, a 3D inspection and 2D inspection have historically been respectively performed using a 3D imaging system and 2D imaging system.
Existing imaging systems for performing inspection of cigarettes in cigarette packer machines have included:
(i) two 3D inspection systems for each cigarette packer machine, including (a) a tobacco level inspection system, (b) a presence/absence of each cigarette inspection system, and/or (c) a filter presence/absence inspection system, and
(ii) one 3D inspection system and one 2D inspection system, including (a) a 3D imaging system based on laser triangulation measurements for tobacco level inspection presence/absence check.
Problems with the use of a laser scanner used to perform laser triangulation for 3D inspection include:
(i) no visual 2D image is capable of being produced so a separate imaging system is needed to support filter presence or absence,
(ii) laser scanners do not produce a visual output that is effective for visual inspection by an operator,
(iii) laser scanners do not produce visual 2D images, so archiving for machine operation analysis and report generation is not possible,
(iv) since 2D images are not available, cigarette locations are fixed such that small misalignment of the cigarettes results in false rejections;
(v) small occlusions in tobacco of the cigarettes result in false rejections;
(vi) additional processing systems may be required for laser scanners due to laser scanners collecting 8000 frames per second (fps) to create the 2D depth image; and
(vii) laser scanners are impacted by safety rules to protect operators.
Accordingly, a cigarette inspection system that reduces or eliminates the shortcomings of existing cigarette inspection systems is needed.